The Phoenix Suns were part of history last night in their 119-112 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, when Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to score 30,000 career points. During the game, Durant was clearly the No. 1 option, as co-star Devin Booker had just 17 points on six-for-13 shooting. The Suns will try to bounce back tonight against the Houston Rockets, whose recent slump has seen them fall back to fifth in the Western Conference.
Phoenix’s chances took a big blow early Wednesday afternoon, when Booker was ruled out with a back injury, which will mark his first missed game since December 28. With Booker sidelined, he’ll probably be replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Ryan Dunn ($3,400), especially with backup shooting guard Grayson Allen and small forward Bradley Beal also out. Dunn has been in and out of the Suns’ starting lineup this season, and he started three of the five games that Booker has missed so far.
With a 14-game featured slate on DraftKings, many stars are available tonight, so getting value out of cheaper options is paramount for building star-studded lineups.
Set your DraftKings fantasy basketball lineups here: NBA $300K Fadeaway [$100K to 1st]
SG/SF Ryan Dunn, Phoenix Suns at Houston Rockets, $3,400
Dunn has been primarily a low-usage option during his rookie season, as he was mostly considered a defensive specialist out of Virginia, and, indeed, his advanced defensive metrics are better than his advanced offensive metrics. He has only attempted 10 or more field goal attempts nine times, and he has only posted greater than a 20% usage rate eight times. He’s been solid in his minutes, though, averaging 6.6 points and 3.4 rebounds (14.5 FPTS) per game.
In the five games that Booker missed earlier in the season — of which Allen also missed four — Dunn’s playing time increased slightly, and he averaged 7.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game, including a 15-point, four-rebound, two-block (26.0-FPT) performance against the Golden State Warriors in the last game of that stretch. In recent games, Dunn’s playing time has taken a bit of a hit, as he’s averaging just 11.2 minutes per game in his last nine games, but with Booker, Allen, and Beal out and new acquisition Vasilije Micic ($4,600) questionable, Dunn should get plenty of run tonight.
He’ll have a tough matchup against a Houston team that has given up the fewest fantasy points to opposing shooting guards this season, but point guard Fred VanVleet ($6,800) won’t play, which should help Dunn. Over their last five games, since losing VanVleet to the ankle sprain, the Rockets have had a merely average defense, allowing 114.7 points per 100 possessions. Even against a compromised Houston team, Dunn won’t put up huge numbers, but he’ll do enough to more than justify his salary.
